338.16 
/»lM612a 


ADDllESS 

DEMVERKT)  AT  THE 


EXHIBITIOISr 


OF  THE 


Saratoga  Springs,  Sept'13, 1866. 

By  Hox.  ANSON  S.  MILLER,  LL.  D., 

OF  EOGKFORD,  ILLINOIS. 


ALBANY: 

VAN  BENTHUYSEN  & SONS,  PRINTERS. 

18()(3. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
APR  23  1332 

UNIVERSiTY  OF  ILLUMUib. 


y\ 


Saratoga  Springs,  September  Vdth,  1866. 


Hon.  Anson  S.  Miller, 'LL.  D.  : 

Dear  Sir — You  Avill  greatly  oblige  the  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society,  by  furnishing  your  most  excellent  and  appropriate  address  before 
the  Society  at  Saratoga  for  publication  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  present  to  you  the  following  resolution, 
offered  by  the  Hon.  William  Kelly  of  Dutchess  county,  which  was  unani- 
mously adopted  by  the  Society  ; 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Society  be  tendered  to  Judge  Miller, 
for  his  able  and  eloquent  address,  this  day  delivered,  and  that  a copy 
thereof  be  requested  for  publication  in  the  volume  of  the  Society’s  Transac- 
tions. 


Saratoga  Springs,  September  lUh,  1806. 

Hon.  Benj.  P.  Johnson,  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  New  York  State 
Agricultural  Society : 

Dear  Sir — Your  favor  of  yesterday  is  before  me,  and  I herewith  furnish 
a copy  of  my  address  before  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society,  as 
requested. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  the  continued  prosperity  and  extensive  useful- 
ness of  the  Society,  and  my  highest  respects  for  you  personally, 

I am  truly. 

Your  obedient  servant. 


I am,  very  respectfully. 


Your  most  obedient  servant, 


B.  P.  JOHNSON, 

Cor.  Secretary. 


ANSON  S.  MILLER. 


>i9fcW 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/addressdeliveredOOmilLO 


ADDRESS. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

Invited  to  address  you  on  this  occasion  I 
appear  and  acknowledge  the  honor. 

Autumn  crowned  with  plenty  has  come  again, 
and  arm  in  arm  with  the  golden  Season  has  also 
come  the  Agricultural  Fair  of  the  Empire  State. 

From  every  direction  the  people  have  met  at 
this  famed  locality  to  enjoy  the  Annual  Harvest 
Home  of  this  great  Commonwealth;  and  we  re- 
verently offer  the  tribute  of  our  gratitude  to  the 
gracious  Giver  of  the  Autumn,  for  the  genial 
showers  of  Spring,  the  fervid  heats  of  Summer, 
and  for  all  the  ripened  bounties  of  the  year. 

We  are  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  renowned 
battle  fields  of  the  Ilevolutionary  war,  to  promote 
and  honor  the  arts  of  peace. 

Coming  from  my  distant  Western  home,  I 
visit  for  the  first  time  this  beautiful  portion  of 
my  native  State;  and  as  I look  around  on  this 


6 


delightful  region,  abounding  in  fine  farms  and 
dwellings,  and  flocks  and  herds,  and  in  all  the 
evidences  of  industry,  wealth  and  refinement; 
and  especially  when  I behold  this  wonderful 
Exliihilion  of  Agricultural  and  Horticultural 
productions  and  Mechanical  skill  and  handi- 
work before  us,  and  above  all,  this  vast  Con- 
course of  the  intelligent,  energetic,  beautiful 
and  wise  of  the  land,  I am  deeply  impressed 
with  the  surj^assing  changes  which  have  been 
wrought  here  by  Agriculture  within  a little 
more  than  half  a Century. 

Eighty-nine  years  ago  to-morrow  Burgoyne, 
at  the  head  of  the  British  army,  crossed  the 
Hudson  on  a bridge  of  boats  and  encamped  uj^on 
the  heights  and  plains  of  Saratoga,  within  a few 
miles  of  Stillwater,  where  General  Gates  had 
advanced  with  his  Continentals.  The  gallant 
Polander,  Kosciusko,  then  held  Bemis  Heights, 
and  Generals  Arnold  and  Morgan  were  stationed 
in  the  neighborhood  with  their  respective  com- 
mands. A fierce  though  not  decisive  battle  was 
fought  on  the  19th  day  of  September,  1777,  in 
which  the  British  were  repulsed.  But  on  the 
7th  of  the  following  October  came  on  a struggle 
on  another  field  of  Saratoga,  where  American 


7 


valor  won  a final  and  brilliant  victory,  which 
was  followed  in  a few  days  by  the  surrender  of 
the  British  army. 

The  rage  and  roar  of  the  charging'hosts,  and 
the  thunders  of  artillery  which  shook  yonder 
battle  fields  frightened  no  flocks  nor  herds  nor 
people  here.  There  was  no  excitement  such 
as  there  would  be  to-day  with  terrific  violence 
and  slaughter  near,  for  these  grounds  were  all 
then  occupied  by  dense  primeval  forests. 

The  first  framed  house  built  in  this  vicinity 
was  erected  in  1784  by  that  noble  patriot  of  the 
\ Bevolution,  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler.  Even  as  late 
as  1797  this  spot  of  world-wide  celebrity  was 
distinguished  only  by  these  medicinal  springs, 
gushing  up  amid  their  swampy  surroundings. 
In  that  year  the  learned  and  gifted  American 
chemist,  Dr.  Benjamin  Silliman,  first  came  here 
to  analyze  these  healing  waters,  and  then  made 
this  entry  in  his  diary:  ‘‘We  mounted  our 

^ horses  one  day,  and  rode  seven  or  eight  miles 

through  the  pine  forest,  with  its  delightful  fra- 
grance, aiid  arrived  at  a place  where  they  said 
there  were  some  mineral  springs.  There  was 
not  even  a village,  but  only  two  or  three  log 
houses  standing  among  the  pine  trees.  The 


8 


people  were  civil,  and  provided  hay  for  our 
horses,  and  for  ourselves  bacon  and  eggs.  They 
piloted  us  into  a morass,  where  nature  was 
unsubdued;  and  stepping  continuously  from  bog 
to  bog,  we  soon  arrived  at  a spring  which  they 
called  the  Congress  Spring.” 

Look  at  the  picture  of  this  region  sixty-nine 
years  ago,  and  contrast  it  with  its  appearance 
on  this  grand  gala-day  Festival,  exhibiting  the 
treasures  and  triumphs  of  Agriculture. 

Behold  these  Fair  Grounds,  with  their  Halls 
full  of  floral  beauty,  and  the  choice  and  abund- 
ant productions  of  the  gardens,  the  vineyards, 
the  orchards,  the  fields  and  the  dairies;  superior 
implements  of  husbandry,  useful  inventions, 
works  of  art,  and  mechanical  ingenuity;  admir- 
able specimens  of  domestic  manufacture,  and  of 
the  matchless  grace  and  skill  of  Woman’s  form- 
ing hand;  yonder  extensive  ranges  of  stalls  and  ^ 
pens  of  the  best  and  most  improved  domestic 
animals;  and  then,  above  and  beyond  all  this, 
contrast  the  population'^  of  the  State  of  New 
York  in  1797,  with  the  present,  when  you  have 


* The  population  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  1790  w’^as  340,120,  and 
in  18G0,  3,880,735,  an  increase  of  more  than  ten  fold.  Present  popu- 
lation of  the  State  is  nearly  or  quite  4,000,000. 


9 


about  a million  more  people  than  all  the  Ameri- 
can colonies  had  in  the  Revolution. 

What  has  been  the  chief  agency  through 
which  all  these  changes  have  been  wrought 
and  this  industrial  excellence  produced  ? All 
answer,  Agriculture.  It  has  swept  away  the 
mighty  forests,  prej3ared  the  fertile  farms,  reared 
the  comfortable  dwellings  and  the  palatial  man- 
sions, the  edifices  of  Learning,  and  the  temples 
of  Religion,  and  filled  the  land  with  smiling 
villages  and  splendid  cities.  Here,  as  through- 
out the  civilized  world,  the  Ax  and  the  Plow 
have  been  the  pioneers  of  improvement.  “ The 
wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  have  been 
glad  for  them,  and  the  desert  has  rejoiced  and 
blossomed  as  the  rose.”  All  the  excellence 
and  glory  of  the  civilized  world  has  been  pro- 
duced by  patient,  persevering  industry;  and  but 
for  this,  to-day  the  earth  would  have  been  a 
wilderness,  and  its  inhabitants  wild  beasts  and 
savages.  What  a moral  dignity  there  is  in  that 
which  has  made  the  world  a home  for  enlight- 
ened man ! The  sweat-drops  on  the  brow  of 
honest,  intelligent  Labor,  are  more  to  be  honored 
than  diamonds  in  the  crowns  of  kings. 

2 


10 


Look  hi  upon  these  improvements  of  half  a 
century,  so  cheering  to  us  all,  we  may  well 
indulge  emotions  of  just  pride  over  the  benefi- 
cence of  Agriculture.  What  stronger  proofs 
can  be  produced  in  its  praise  ? Facts,  palpable 
and  prominent,  are  before  us;  and  your  speaker 
can  add  nothing.  No  wealth  of  language,  no 
aptness  nor  amplitude  of  illustration  can  so 
move  the  mind  as  the  eloquence  of  this  day’s 
spectacle. 

“From  scenes  like  these  onr  country’s  grandeur  springs, 
That  makes  lier  loved  at  home,  revered  abroad.” 

Farmers:  Called  from  another  profession  to 
address  you  to-day  on  the  subject  of  Agriculture, 
I diffidently  discuss  topics,  in  the  practical  know- 
ledge of  which,  you  are  doubtless  my  superiors. 

Legal  science  has  little  to  do  with  the  chem- 
ical analysis  of  soils,  vegetables,  or  animals;  or 
with  the  growing  of  grain  or  stock  — Lawyers 
at  the  Bar,  and  Judges  on  the  Bench,  survey 
other  fields  than  the  peaceful  and  cheerful  ones 
of  Agriculture.  They  occupy  a position  where 
the  warring  elements  of  society  meet  for  con- 
flict, and  they  have  to  deal  with  hostile  feelings 
and  clashing  interests;  violated  contracts,  bro- 
ken laws,  and  fearful  crimes.  They  search  not 


11 


the  Atmosphere  for  nutritive  gjises,  nor  the 
Earth  for  fertilizing  substances  ; and  their  chief 
concern  with  Land  is  to  determine  bounds  and 
ownership.  Notwithstanding  this,  I cherish  a 
strong  sympathy  with  the  employment  of  my 
early  years,  and  as  a man,  and  an  American  citi- 
zen, I must  revere  above  all  others,  that  calling 
which  feeds  the  world,  lays  the  basis  of  univer- 
sal civilization,  and  affords  the  surest  guaranty 
for  my  Country’s  Prosperity  and  Freedom. 

Without  detracting  from  the  importance  and 
excellence  of  other  pursuits,  we  must  give  the 
first  rank  to  Agriculture  as  the  primitive  em- 
ployment of  man,  the  support  of  all  the  other 
branches  of  useful  business,  and  the  corner  stone 
of  the  social  edifice.  Among  the  different  call- 
ings there  should  be  no  envy,  no  discord.  The 
divisions  of  labor  have  their  origin  in  the  vary- 
ing wants  and  fiiculties  of  mankind;  all  are 
parts  of  one  great  whole,  whose  harmonious 
relations  are  productive  of  the  highest  happi- 
ness. Whenever,  therefore,  contentions  arise 
between  the  different  occupations,  let  us  • re- 
member the  words  of  a great  patriarch  to  his 
thriving  kinsman,  ‘‘Let  there  be  no  strife,  I 
pray  thee,  between  me  and  thee,  and  between 


12 


my  herclrnen  and  tby  herdmen,  for  we  be  breth- 
ren.” Yes,  we  are  brethren,  brethren  in  all  the 
blessings  of  Civilization,  brethren  in  the  same 
inheritance  of  Free  government,  and  in  the 
same  hopes  of  an  immortal  Life  ! 

Avoiding  the  modes  and  details  of  Husbandry, 
so  often  discussed  on  occasions  like  this,  and  so 
well  .understood  by  you  in  theory  and  practice, 
I propose  speaking  briefly  of  the  History  and 
Progress  of  Agriculture,  and  the  Duties  and 
Prospects  of  the  American  Farmer. 

Agriculture,  in  its  progress  from  the  earliest 
times  to  the  present,  furnishes  not  only  the  his- 
tory of  man  in  the  most  important  department 
of  industry,  but  of  the  advancement  of  Mankind 
from  the  Savage  to  the  Enlightened  state.  The 
history  of  Agriculture  is  the  history  of  Civiliz- 
ation; and  throughout  the  annals  of  the  human 
race  appears  tliis  most  interesting  fact,  that  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  has  everywhere  gone  hand 
in  hand  with  mental  improvement. 

The  Soil  and  the  Mind  have  uniformly  been 
improved  together,  and  in  a like  degree;  — a 
great  historical  truth  in  honor  of  Agriculture. 

In  the  beginning  man  commenced  his  course 
in  outward  destitution  and  nakedness.  The  ani- 


mals  over  which  he  was  given  the  dominion, 
were  furnished  by  nature  with  ample  covering, 
and  perfect  instincts,  leaving  no  use  nor  space 
for  experience  or  improvement  in  their  future 
being.  The  lordly  Lion,  the  stately  Elephant, 
the  graceful  Swan,  the  soaring  Eagle,  and  all 
the  living  things  of  air  and  earth  and  ocean,  are 
now  no  farther  advanced  in  knowledge  and  hap- 
piness than  the  first  created  of  their  species. 
The  industrious  Bee  needed  nothing  of  mathe- 
matics or  mechanics  to  form  his  first  hexagonal 
cells,  nor  of  chemistry  or  botany,  to  extract  the 
sweets  of  flowers  to  fill  them.  The  Nightin- 
gale’s song  the  first  night  in  the  groves  of  Eden, 
was  warbled  with  the  same  heavenly  melody 
and  plaintive  cadence  that  have  charmed  the  ear 
with  melting  pathos  ever  since. 

But  MAN,  endowed  with  reason  and  gifted  with 
latent  faculties,  destined  to  “ crown  him  with 
glory  and  honor,”  was  constitutionally  progres- 
sive, and  required  experience  and  knowledge 
and  development,  at  every  step  of  his  advance- 
ment. He  drew  his  first  nourishment  from  the 
bosom  of  mother  Earth,  but  soon  found  that  the 
spontaneous  productions  of  the  soil  furnished 
him  with  only  a precarious  subsistence ; he 


14 


therefore  provided  against  future  wants  by  cul- 
tivating the  ground  and  storing  its  fruits. 

Tlie  eldest  sons  of  our  Grand  Ancestor  chose 
different  branches  of  husbandry.  One  was  “a 
tiller  of  the  ground,”  the  other  ‘‘a  keeper  of 
sheep.”  Here  was  a division  of  labor. 

Men  soon  learned  to  manufacture  clothino: ; 
their  implements  of  peace  and  their  weapons 
of  war;  and  to  exchange  commodities;  and 
thus  Agriculture,  Manufactures  and  Commerce, 
originating  in  human  necessities,  were  coeval 
with  the  formation  of  society. 

After  the  deluge,  “Noah  began  to  be  a hus- 
bandman, and  he  planted  a vineyard.”  In  the 
pi  ogress  of  society  the  ownershij^  of  personal 
property  was  followed  by  that  of  real  estate,  and 
thus  men  established  permanent  habitations. 

From  the  shelter  of  trees  and  caves  they 
advanced  to  tents  and  huts,  and  safe  and  comfort- 
able dwellings,  and  these  became  their  castles 
of  defense,  and  the  established  homes  of  them- 
selves and  their  families. 

The  recognition  and  protection  of  Property 
in  the  Soil  was  the  most  important  step  in  the 
progress  of  human  improvements,  as  it  secured 


15 


the  fruits  of  agriculture,  and  laid  the  foundation: 
necessary  for  all  social  advancement. 

Agriculture  was  anterior  to  History.  Herod-, 
otus,  Homer  and  Hesiod  wrote  of  it.  The 
Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Assyrians,  and  Chinese 
were  among  the  first  agricultural  nations.  The 
valleys  of  the  Nile,  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
were  rich  in  cereal  grains,  and  from  specimens 
of  Egyj)tian  wheat  three  thousand  years  okh, 
found  by  antiquarians,  we  may  well  believe  that 
the  “corn”  of  Scripture  stored  through  the 
seven  years  of  plenty  for  the  famine,  by  the 
illustrious  Joseph,  was  nearly  as  full  and  fine  as 
the  wheat  of  New  York,  Michigan,  Illinois  or 
Oregon. 

Butter  and  cheese  were  made  at  an  early  day, 
but  in  small  quantities,  and  as  for  quality,  how 
do  you  suppose  the  Butter  mentioned  in  Genesis, 
which  Abraham  set  before  his  Angel  guests, 
would  compare  with  that  of  your  own  Orange 
and  Oneida  counties  ; or  how  the  Cheese  refer- 
red to  in  Job,  with  the  excellent  manufacture  of 
your  own  Williams,  the  originator  of  the  cheese 
factory  ? 

Writers  a Thousand  years  before  the  Christian 
era  described  the  Plow,  but  what  was  it  in  com- 


IG 


pari  son  with  the  best  here  on  exhibition  ? The 
plow  driven  by  Elisha,  “with  twelve  yoke  of 
oxen,”  would  have  availed  nothing  in  breaking 
up  the  matted  sod  of  centuries,  on  the  prairies 
of  the  West.  We  have  better  plows  and  teams 
than  his,  driven  not  indeed  by  future  prophets, 
but  by  those  from  New  York  and  others  who 
are  nobly  fulfilling  the  'prophecies  of  American 
greatness. 

Most  of  our  choice  flowers  and  fruits,  grains 
and  vegetables,  have  been  greatly  improved  by 
the  culture  of  ages.  Adam  and  Eve  saw  no 
such  floral  beauty  and  delicious  fruitage  as  those 
which  load  the  tables  in  your  halls. 

Think  how  the  Rose,  the  queen  of  flowers,  the 
Apple,  the  most  useful  of  orchard  fruits,  and  the 
Maize  and  Potato,  so  important  as  food  for  man 
and  beast,  have  been  improved  by  culture;  and 
how  by  care  and  breeding,  all  your  domestic 
animals  have  been  brought  to  their  present  state 
of  23orfection. 

Among  the  ancient  writers  on  Agriculture, 
we  may  briefly  notice  Socrates,  Xenophon,  Cato, 
Seneca,  Virgil,  and  other  Greeks  and  Romans ; 
among  the  moderns.  Sir  Anthony  Fitz  Herbert, 
who  published  the  first  work  on  Agriculture  in 


IV 


England,  his  “ Boke  of  Ilusbandrie,”  in  1534  ; 
Sir  Hugh  Platte,  Walter  Blithe,  Jethro  Tull, 
Bober  t Bake  well,  Arthur  Young,  the  greatest 
of  the  early  Englioh  agricultural  writers;  Lord 

^ Karnes  and  Sir  John  Sinclair,  writers  in  Great 

Britain,  and  in  continental  Europe  we  may 
name  Duhamel,  Buffbn,  Kretchmer,  Saussure, 
Humboldt  and  others.  Sir  Humphrey  Davy 
delivered  his  lectures  on  the  “ Elements  of  Agri- 
culture ” before  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  in 
England,  from  1802  to  1812,  when  Agriculture 
for  the  first  time  attained  the  rank  of  a science. 

' Davy  investigated  the  elements  of  the  soil,  and 

applied  the  science  of  Chemistry  to  the  improve- 
ment of  Agriculture.  He  explained  the  func- 
tions of  the  roots  and  leaves  of  plants,  and 
showed  that  vegetable  tissues  were  made  up 
principally  by  different  combinations  of  carbon, 
hydrogen,  oxygen  and  nitrogen,  and  that  but  a 
small  part  of  a plant  was  formed  from  the  soil 
itself.  He  also  showed  how  plants,  soils  and 
manures  could  be  analyzed,  and  what  manures 
would  furnish  the  elements  needed  by  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  plants.  Ammonia,  phosphorus  and 
all  the  ingredients  of  the  soil,  matter  organic 
3 


18 


and  inorganic,  as  related  to  Agriculture,  were 
fully  investigated  by  Davy,  and  after  him  by 
Chaptal,  a profound  and  original  writer. 

But  all  the  writers  on  Agricultural  Chemistry 
have  been  eclipsed  by  Prof.  Liebig,  who  pub- 
lished his  first  work  in  1840,  and  opened  a new 
era  for  agricultural  investigation. 

I have  no  time  to  dwell  on  the  works  of  Davy, 
and  Liebig,  and  Chaptal,  and  Johnson,  and  Dana, 
and  of  other  excellent  writers  who  have  util- 
ized science  to  the  purposes  of  Agriculture ; 
every  farmer  should  have  them  in  his  library. 
Neither  have  I time  to  more  than  mention 
another  work  which  every  farmer  should  have  — 
that  of  your  own  Dr.  Fitch  on  Entomology. 

Time  will  scarcely  permit  me  to  do  more  than 
barely  notice  the  fact  of  the  formation  of  Agri- 
cultural Societies,  the  establishment  of  Agricul- 
tural Schools  and  Colleges,  and  the  23ublication 
of  Agricultural  Journals. 

The  first  Society  for  the  improvement  of 
Agriculture  in  the  State  of  New  York  was 
formed  in  1791,  and  a similar  one  in  Massachu- 
setts in  1792.  Such  societies  were  formed  in 
most  of  the  States  as  early  as  the  first  j3art  of 
this  century,  and  as  the  new  States  have  been 


19 


admitted  into  the  Union,  such  societies  have 
been  formed  at  early  periods  — so  that  a spirit 
of  competition  in  agricultural  improvement  has 
been  excited  throughout  the  country  in  County, 
State  and  National  societies.  There  should  be 
Town  societies  also.  Many  would  compete  in 
Towns  who  would  not  go  to  a County  Fair,  and 
in  this  way  a spirit  of  emulation  would  be  awak- 
ened in  every  neighborhood.  This  would  do 
much  to  elevate  the  standard  of  Agriculture. 
The  Town  societies  would  bear  somewhat  of  the 
same  relation  to  those  of  the  County,  State  and' 
Nation  as  the  Common  schools  do  to  academies, 
colleges  and  universities.  Town  associations 
will  do  more  for  the  intelligence  of  the  farmers, 
and  the  circulation  of  agricultural  periodicals 
throughout  the  States,  than  any  other  organiza- 
tions. 

Agricultural  schools  and  colleges  have  been 
established  in  some  of  the  States,  and  have  been 
aided  by  governments.  State  or  National.  In 
Illinois,  and  other  Western  States,  there  have 
been  liberal  grants  of  United  States  land  for  the 
purpose. 

In  your  own  State  the  magnificent  gift  of  one 
of  your  own  citizens,  the  lion.  Ezra  Cornell,  of 


20 


half  a million  dollars  and  a farm  of  two  hundred 
acres,  for  the  purpose  of  Agricultural  education, 
gives  assurance  that  Agricultural  education  in 
this  State  will  be  placed  on  the  most  solid  basis. 

These  schools  are  in  their  infancy  in  our  coun- 
try, but  will  ultimately  be  established  in  every 
State,  and  will  do  an  immense  good.  There  are 
nearly  four  hundred  agricultural  schools  and 
colleges  in  Europe,  in  which  chemistry,  botany, 
geology,  natural  history  and  philosophy,  politi- 
cal economy,  practical  surveying  and  engineer- 
ing, and  veterinary  practice,  are  thoroughly 
taught.  But  our  main  dependence  for  agricul- 
tural education  among  the  masses  of  the  people 
must  be  on  standard  agricultural  works  and  pe- 
riodicals. These  can  and  should  be  studied  by 
every  farmer.  A single  paper  often  imjDarts 
knowledge  of  more  value  than  would  pay  a ten 
years’  subscription.  Success  to  our  able  Agri- 
cultural Periodicals,  they  are  the  light  and  life 
of  our  improvements,  and  should  receive  every 
reasonable  encouragement. 

Time  will  permit  me  to  glance  only  at  the 
improvements  in  the  Implements  of  Husbandry 
which  have  kept  full  pace  with  Scientific  Know- 
ledge. The  old  wooden  mould-board  Carey- 


21 


plow  was  succeeded  by  your  own  Jethro  Wood’s 
cast  iron  one,  and  that  has  been  followed  by  one 
of  cast  steel ; the  sickle  has  given  way  to  the 
reaper,  the  scythe  to  the  mower,  and  the  flail  to 
•the  thresher  and  sheller.  These,  and  sowers, 
planters,  cultivators,  horse-rakes,  and  other 
labor-saving  machines,  enable  the  farmer  to 
perform  his  work  by  brute  force,  wdth  multiplied 
powers  and  enlarged  operations,  and  greatly 
diminished  manual  labor. 

Necessity  in  Agriculture  as  in  other  depart- 
ments, has  been  the  mother  of  invention ; with- 
out these  labor-saving  machines  the  vast  fields 
of  the  west  could  not  have  been  cultivated,  nor 
their  annual  crops  of  millions  of  bushels  of  grain 
produced  in  market.  Sorghum  evaporators  and 
refiners  — some  of  which  are  here  on  exhibi- 
tion— have  given  a great  impetus  to  the  grow- 
ing of  Cane  in  the  West. 

And  now  standing  here  in  the  last  half  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century,  we  look  back  upon  the  vast 
progress  and  behold  our  own  agriculture  en- 
riched  by  the  improvements  and  knowledge  for 
wdiich  Nations  and  Ages  have  combined  their 
endeavors. 

All  the  improvements  which  we  behold  in  this 


22 


exhibition,  the  productions  of  the  soil,  the  supe- 
rior domestic  animals,  and  agricultural  imple- 
ments of  American  manufacture,  raised  to  such 
perfection,  exhibit  Mind  as  clearly  as  if  it  were 
blazoned  in  golden  characters  on  the  living  sky. 
The  little  rills  of  agricultural  knowledge  flowing 
down  from  a remote  antiquity  antecedent  to 
History,  and  forming  into  larger  and  larger 
streams,  and  gathering  accelerated  force  through 
Centuries  of  enlightenment,  have  united  in  an 
accumulated  flood  which  rolls  down  on  our 
times,  like  our  own  Mississippi,  with  a deep 
channel  and  a broad  bosom. 

Farmers,  Agriculture  to  you  is  a practical 
thing,  a tangible  reality.  With  others  it  may 
be  a mere  abstraction,  but  with  you  it  is  vital, 
the  support  of  yourselves  and  your  families. 
How  to  prepare  your  ground,  how  to  plant  and 
sow,  and  cultivate  and  harvest,  how  to  manage 
your  dairies  and  domestic  animals,  and  above  all 
how  to  honor  your  calling  and  to  make  happy 
« and  ennobling  homes  for  those  most  dear  to  you, 
are  questions  of  the  gravest  concern.  Your 
vocation  has  its  embarrassments  and  peculiar 
trials.  You  cannot  control  the  elements  — un- 
seasonable frosts  and  rains  and  drouths  often 


23 


blast  your  hopes,  but  it  should  be  remembered 
that  other  occupations  have  their  peculiar  trials 
also.  Success  in  every  department  of  life  re- 
quires strong  faith  and  hope  and  courage  — and 
all  trials  triumphantly  passed,  under  the  great 
law  of  Compensation,  only  make  us  the  stronger. 
Agriculture  is  no  longer  a blind  experiment;  it 
is  a Science,  and  science  is  knowledge.  No 
farmer  can  succeed  against  the  principles  of 
Science;  though  ignorant  of  these  principles,  his 
success  depends  upon  harmonizing  with  Nature’s 
laws.  Science  teaches  us  how  to  augment  the 
productive  powers  of  Nature.  Book-knowledge 
in  farming  is  regarded  by  some  with  unjust  pre- 
judice. Books,  indeed,  are  not  plows,  or  teams, 
or  laborers  — but  they  direct  them  Does  the 
wise  traveler  disregard  the  guide-board  because 
it  does  not  furnish  him  with  a coach-and-four  ? 
Its  only  office  is  to  direct.  And  the  farmers 
who  seek  success  from  books  without  the  requi- 
site labor,  or  from  labor  without  the  requisite 
knowledge,  are  unwise.  But  if  the  farmer  has 
peculiar  trials  he  has  peculiar  advantages.  His 
crops  and  herds  and  flocks,  grow  in  value  while 
he  sleeps,  and  mother  Earth  generously  receives 
from  her  farmer  children  things  cast  off  as  worth- 


24 


less  i^nd  even  offensive,  and  returns  to  them  in 
exchange  her  richest  productions. 

Successful  husbandry  requires  great  industry 
and  intelligence  combined.  Indeed,  there  is  no 
business  which  demands  more  care,  activity, 
economy,  resolution,  foresight  and  true  wisdom, 
than  yours,  and  we  trust  that  on  the  principles 
of  Political  Economy  the  demand  will  regulate 
the  supply.  Amid  his  toils  and  trials  the  farmer 
especially  in  extended  operations,  needs  much 
of  the  administrative  ability  of  a Governor,  the 
science  of  a Naturalist,  the  sagacity  of  a States- 
man, the  ingenuity  of  a Mechanic,  the  tact  of  a 
Merchant,  the  patience  of  a Philosopher,  and 
the  faith  of  a Christian. 

There  is  no  occupation  better  fitted  to  bring 
into  vigorous  and  harmonious  action  all  the 
j)Owers,  physical  and  mental,  and  to  develope  a 
true  manhood,  than  that  which  our  revered  Wash- 
ington pronounced  “ the  most  healthful,  the 
most  useful,  and  the  most  noble  employment 
of  man.’^  He  who  can  pursue  his  business  reso- 
lutely through  the  cold  of  winter,  and  the  heat 
of  summer,  and  can  go  forth  hopefully  and  fearr 
lessly  and  make  his  home  and  farm  in  the 
solitary  forests  or  prairies,  and  there  struggle 


bravely  in  the  battle  of  life,  exhibits  a boldness 
and  independence  of  character  which,  if  not  of 
every  day  occurrence,  we  would  behold  with 
wonder  and  admiration. 

Many  of  our  most  illustrious  public  men  have 
had  their  early  training  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
solitudes  of  nature,  where  they  have  acquired 
habits  of  persevering  industry,  strength  of  body 
and  mind,  resolution  of  purpose,  and  all  the 
manly  characteristics  requisite  for  exalted  sta- 
tion. Such  training  had  George  Washington, 
the  young  farmer  and  surveyor,  in  the  wilds  of 
Virginia,  and  such  Abraham  Lincoln,  also  a 
young  farmer  and  survej^or,  the  first  settler  in 
a new  county  of  Illinois. 

Indeed,  Husbandry  from  the  beginning  has 
been  honored  by  the  good  and  great  of  the  land. 
Abraham  was  “ very  rich  in  cattle.”  Moses 
was  a shepherd.  Saul  and  David,  when  kings, 
delighted  in  feeding  their  flocks  and  herds. 
Cyrus  laid  out  his  palace-grounds,  and  planted 
trees  with  his  own  hands.  Shamgar  was  called 
from  his  herd  to  judge  Israel;  Gideon  was 
threshing  when  summoned  to  lead  the  Jewish 
army  against  the  Kings  of  Midian  ; and  Elisha 
left  his  plow  to  receive  the  mantle  of  an  ascend- 
4 


ing  Prophet.  Socrates  tilled  the  soil  and  taught 
philosopliy;  Cineinnatus  was  called  from  his 
little  farm  on  the  Tiber,  by  a deputation  of 
Senators,  to  become  the  Dictator,  and  to  rout 
the  enemies  of  beleaguered  Rome.  Paulus  Emilius 
who  captured  the  King  of  Macedonia,  Scipio 
the  conqueror  of  Carthage,  and  Cato  the  model 
Censor,  were  noble  Roman  farmers. 

Our  own  American  history  abounds  in  similar 
instances.  I will  mention  two  only.  Putnam 
was  plowing  when  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington  reached  him.  He  stopped  his  team, 
took  his  horse  from  before  his  oxen  which  he 
left  with  the  plow  in  the  furrow,  and  without 
changing  his  clothing,  rode  abroad  to  rally  the 
forces  which  he  subsequentlj^  commanded  on 
Bunker  Hill.  And  last,  though  not  least,  your 
own  lamented  AYadsworth,  a former  President 
of  this  Society,  the  princely  farmer  and  heroic 
patriot,  left  his  magnificent  domain  on  the 
Genesee  for  the  discomforts  of  the  camp  and  the 
perils  of  the  battle  field,  that  he  might  aid  in 
crushing  a rebellion  at  once  the  most  causeless, 
and  the  most  gigantic  and  atrocious,  in  the 
history  of  nations.  AYe  bewail  his  fall,  and 
honor  his  noble  name. 


27 


Mr.  President,  permit  me  to  say  a few  words 
as  to  the  experience  of  our  Western  farmers. 
They  have  found  that  deep  plowing  multiplies 
the  sheaves,  and  that  early  sowing  and  planting 
secure  good  yields ; that  rotation  in  crops  is 
important,  and  that  mixed  husbandry  is  the  saf- 
est ; that  breeding  from  thorough-bred  stock 
animals  is  the  true  mode  for  improvement,  and 
that  the  breed  which  pays  the  best  for  good 
keeping  is  the  most  profitable  ; that  it  is  highly 
advantageous  for  farmers  to  keep  an  account  of 
debit  and  credit  with  fields  and  animals,  so  as 
clearlj^  to  determine  the  question  of  profit 
or  loss,  and  that  account  books  prepared  for 
the  purpose  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every 
farmer.  And  finally,  that  liheraliiy  in  provid,- 
ing  farming  utensils,  feeding  teams,  sheltering 
tock,  fatting  animals,  manuring  the  soil,  sow- 
ing, planting,  and  cultivating,  and  especially 
in  paying  for  faithful  laborers  and  good  agricul- 
tural papers,  is  the  best  course.  Pleasure  and 
profit  unite  in  liberality.  It  is  the  hand  of  the 
the  LIBERAL  as  well  as  of  the  ‘‘  diligent  ” that 
“ maketh  rich.” 

Our  Western  farmers  have  also  found  that  one 
hundred  acres  well  cultivated,  make  better  re- 


28 


turns  than  two  hundred  slighted;  that  thorough 
culture  is  better  than  mortgages  on  their  hirms  ; 
and  that  an  offensive  war  against  weeds  is  far 
less  expensive  than  a defensive  one  ; that  haj  is 
a great  deal  cheaper  made  in  summer  than  pur- 
chased in  winter  ; that  good  fences  always  pay 
better  than  lawsuits  with  neighbors;  and  that 
dogs  are  not  the  best  variety  of  live  fence.  That 
paying  promptly  for  a good  agricultural  paper, 
and  educating  children  at  the  best  schools,  is 
loaning  money  at  more  than  one  hundred  per 
cent.  That  one  evening  spent  at  home  in  im- 
proving the  social  and  intellectual  condition  of 
the  family,  is  far  better  than  ten  at  a neighbor- 
ing tavern.  And  it  has  been  especially  found 
that  farmers  cannot  be  too  radical  in  paying 
their  debts,  nor  too  conservative  in  incurring 
them. 

Notwithstanding  our  immense  yields  of  wheat, 
our  most  important  grain  crop  in  the  West  is 
Indian  Corn.  When  this  is  plenty,  as  it  gene- 
rally is,  the  farmer  has  fat  horses,  cattle,  sheep, 
hogs,  poultry,  and  an  abundance  of  the  substan- 
tials  of  life. 

The  Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  at  Washing- 
ton, reports  the  corn  crop  of  Illinois  for  1865  at 


29 


177,095,8^2'^  bushels.  This  is  doubtless  short  of 
the  quantity,  which  may  be  safely  estimated,  in 
round  numbers,  at  180,000,000  of  bushels  — 
figures  which  the  promising  corn  crop  of  1866 
will  probably  reach,  or  even  surpass.  Consider 
for  a moment  that  this  wonderful  yield  is  but 
one  product  in  a single  year,  of  a young  State 
only  partially  cultivated,  and  that  the  State  itself 
is  a small  portion  of  the  Twelve  Hundred  Thou- 
sand square  miles  of  our  Countr}^  Iji^ig  between 
the  Alleghany  and  the  Uocky  mountains;  — a 
vast  region,  unequalled  on  the  globe  for  its  Agri- 
cultural resources.  Mineral  riches  and  Commer- 
cial advantages,  and  you  will  agree  with  me  that 
when  this  grand  Domain  shall  be  cultivated,  we 


*The  following  computations  have  been  made,  by  which  some 
estimate  of  the  vast  corn  crop  of  Illinois  may  be  formed  : Put  this 
quantity  of  177,095,852  bushels  into  cars,  350  bushels  in  a car,  and  a 
locomotive  to  every  twenty  cars,  allowing  each  car  to  measure  two 
rods,  it  would  make  a train  more  than  3,000  miles  long,  and  it  would 
I require  over  25,000  locomotives  to  diaw  the  train.  Or  load  the 

X 177,095,852  bushels  into  wagons,  441  bushels  in  each  wagon,  and 

allow  each  wagon  and  team  two  rods  of  space,  it  would  make  a pro- 
cession of  over  4,000,000  wagons,  and  would  reach  more  than  25,000 
miles,  or  around  the  Globe.  It  would  require  8,000,000  horses  to 
draw  the  wagons,  and  nearly  a million  more  than  all  the  horses,  mules 
and  colts  in  the  United  States  in  1860.  And  to  furnish  drivers,  would 
require  4,000,000  men,  or  more  than  all  that  were  in  both  the  Union 
and  rebel  armies  during  the  late  war.  Such  was  the  corn  crop  of 
Illinois  for  1865. 


30 


can  depend  on  no  foreign  market  for  our  over- 
plus products,  but  that  we  must  provide  now  for 
a HOME  market  which  a great  Independent  Nation- 
ality, encouraging  all  the  branches  of  Industiy, 
can  alone  secure. 

There  are  products,  however,  more  important 
to  the  farmer  than  wheat  or  corn,  or  choice  ani- 
mals or  delicious  fruitao;e  — these  are  elevatino; 
Ideas  and  ennobling  Sentiments — products  which 
can  be  grown  through  every  month  in  the  year 
uninjured  by  cold  or  heat,  or  rains  or  drouth. 
Ordinary  business  is  but  secondary  to  the  growth 
of  the  higher  faculties.  The  man  is  more  im- 
portant than  his  occupation,  and  should  not  be 
merged  in  it.  Manhood,  in  its  true  nobility,  is 
above  professional  success  and  eminence.  The 
purpose  of  labor  should  be  something  above 
itself,  some  noble  end  of  which  work  is  but  the 
means,  something  lasting  and  exalted  as  the 
growth  of  the  higher  life.  The  farm  is  for  the 
farmer,  not  the  farmer  for  the  farm,  just  as  the 
hat  is  for  the  head,  not  the  head  for  the  hat. 
Constant  physical  exertion  exhausts  the  brain, 
and  leaves  little  energy  for  thought  and  study. 
Many  a farmer  allows  his  brain  to  be  absorbed  in 
a routine  of  drudgery,  when  he  should  keep  it 


31 


invigorated  for  higher  uses.  He  has  a mind  to 
be  nourished  while  he  performs  his  manual  labors. 

The  grand  Mission  of  the  many  labor-saving 
machines  and  scientific  discoveries  for  Agricul- 
ture, is  to  relieve  the  fixrmer  from  over  toil, 
emancipate  him  from  drudgery,  and  raise  him  to 
the  dignity  of  his  employment.  The  Farmer 
ought  to  live  the  grandest  life,  among  the  inspir- 
ing scenes  of  Nature,  and  the  cheering  facts  of 
Science  Standing  in  the  vast  Temple  of  the 
firmament,  surrounded  by  the  natural  agents  as 
his  ministers,  and  producing  food  for  the  world, 
he  seems  sublimely  invested  with  creative  power 
next  to  the  Deity,  and  entitled  to  the  first  rank 
in  honor  and  happiness. 

The  greatest  want  of  the  farmer  to-day  is  not 
a lack  of  the  knowledge  of  chemistry  or  vege- 
table physiology,  or  of  any  of  the  sciences  con- 
nected with  his  calling.  More  than  all  these  he 
needs  social  elevation  and  a better  style  of  life. 
Homes  more  comfortable,  tasteful  and  attractive, 
without  extravagance,  can  in  most  cases  be  easily 
provided  by  the  farmer,  and  his  worthy  wife 
and  children  will  bless  him  for  the  provision. 

More  should  be  done  to  make  homesteads 
beautiful,  with  embellished  grounds  and  gardens, 


so  that  the  outward  surrounding  of  the  farmer’s 
dwelling,  even  if  a cottage,  shall  harmonize  with 
a bright  and  happy  social  atmosphere  within. 
Beauty  and  Utility  are  everywhere  joined  in 
Nature,  and  are  of  the  same  birth.  The  blos- 
som precedes  the  fruit : the  latter  nourishes  our 
bodies — the  former  delights  our  senses,  refines 
our  tastes,  and  cheers  us  with  rational  enjoy- 
ment. Let  Beauty  and  Utility  unite  in  adorning 
the  farmers’  homes,  and  let  their  wives  and  their 
sons  and  daughters  give  their  hearts  and  hands 
to  the  ennobling  improvements. 

Success  in  Agriculture  is  not  completed  by 
addino;  barn  to  barn  and  field  to  field.  All  this 
may  be  rationally  desirable,  but  whatever  his 
thrift,  he  is  an  unsuccessful  man  who  has  not 
improved  himself  from  year  to  year,  and  con- 
stantly ministered  to  the  elevation  of  his  house- 
hold. The  heart  must  be  cultivated  as  well  as 
the  soil.  Noxious  weeds  flourish  spontaneously, 
but  the  golden  grains  and  luscious  fruits  all  come 
of  culture. 

Our  age  demands  the  highest  improvement  in 
every  department.  Tremendous  forces  are  oper- 
ating. Society  is  moving  upward  and  onward, 
and  the  Farmer  must  move  with  it.  Man  is 


33 


rising  in  position  and  power,  and  annihilating 
time  and  space  through  the  imponderable  agents. 
His  “ line  has  gone  out  through  all  the  earth,  and 
his  words  to  the  end  of  the  world;”  and  even  the 
Lightnings  say  unto  him,  “Here  we  are!”  Man 
has  made  Electricity  his  bearer  of  despatches. 
Light  his  artist,  and  Heat  his  motive  power,  and 
thus  he  has  tasked  the  elements  themselves  with 
human  labors. 

We  live  in  an  age  of  World’s  Fairs,  Ocean 
Telegraphs,  Railroads,  Ship  Canals  and  iron- 
clad War  Steamers.  Mind  is  controlling  matter 
as  never  before,  and  producing  wonderful  results. 

' We  often  hear  it  said  that  Corn  is  King,  and 
Cotton  is  King.  Mind  alone,  educated  Mind  is 
King;  and  Labor,  enlightened  Labor  the  Prime 
Minister  through  all  the  realms  of  Industry. 

Farmers,  you  have  a large  majority  of  the 
active  men  of  the  American  Union.  The  Sun 
in  his  course  looks  down  on  more  enterprising, 
independent  farmers  in  the  United  States  than 
in  any  other  land.  With  you  rests  the  respon- 
sibility of  sustaining  the  laws  and  the  liberties 
of  our  country.  You  are  the  lords  of  the  soil, 
and  know  that  politically,  all  that  we  have  and 
5 


34 


all  that  we  are,  and  all  that  we  hope  to  be  in 
this  life,  depend  upon  the  intelligence  and 
patriotism  of  the  majority.  Ours  is  one  coun- 
try, ONE  evidently  by  Divine  design.  There  are 
no  natural  boundaries  for  its  division.  The 
Mississippi,  Avith  its  mighty  tributaries  of  nearly 
twenty  thousand  miles  of  navigable  Avaters,  Avill 
forever  roll  on  to  secure  the  Union.  You  can 
no  more  divide  our  national  territory  advantage- 
ously than  our  dear  old  flag,  or  any  one  of  our 
national  songs.  We  knoAV  you  Avill  be  true  to 
Liberty  in  the  preservation  of  our  Republic — - 
standing  firmly  by  the  principles  of  the  Consti- 
tution, rejecting  the  false,  the  local  and  the 
temporary,  and  maintaining  manfully  the  true, 
the  universal  and  the  eternal.  What  are  all 
your  agricultural  improvements,  your  farms, 
your  flocks  and  herds  on  a thousand  hills  and 
in  a thousand  A^alleys  — Avhat  are  Agriculture, 
Manufactures  and  Commerce,  your  country  and 
your  sacred  homes,  without  governmental  pro- 
tection and  our  glorious  Nationality  ? 

Here  Agriculture  will  achieve  the  proudest 
triumphs,  developing  the  resources  of  our  vast 
territory,  and  multiplying  our  wealth  and  popu- 
lation many  and  many  fold.  This  continental 


35 


region  between  the  two  great  oceans,  amply  suffi- 
cient for  a Hundred  States,  and  Two  Hundred 
Millions  of  people,  will  exhibit  agricultural  pro- 
ducts unparalleled  in  quantity  and  variety.  The 
wheat,  the  corn,  the  wool,  the  cotton,  the,  flax, 
the  hemp,  the  sugar,  the  butter,  the  cheese,  the 
beef,  the  pork,  and  all  the  staples,  will  be  pro- 
duced in  unexampled  abundance  ; and  the  farm- 
ers of  the  East  and  the  West,  the  North  and  the 
South,  amid  the  blessings  and  under  the  inspira- 
tion of  FREE  LABOR,  will,  we  trust,  for  ages  and 
ages  to  come,  rejoice  as  Brethren  in  “ one  Coun- 
try, one  Constitution,  and  one  Destiny” — State 
authority  never  causing  Disunion,  nor  Federal 
power  a hurtful  Consolidation,  but  the  compli- 
cated machinery  of  our  political  institutions 
operating  with  somewhat  of  the  equilibrium  and 
grandeur  of  the  solar  sj^stem  in  the  heavens;  the 
Planets  never  destroying  the  annual  revolutions, 
nor  the  Sun  the  diurnal ; but  all  the  planets 
revolving  on  their  axes,  and  at  the  same  time 
obedient  to  the  control  of  a common  center,  and 
rolling  harmoniously  in  their  circles  forever. 

Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Society: 
The  enterprising  sons  of  New  York  are  every.- 
where  in  the  West.  You  may  traveT  over-land 


university  oc  II  I 


3 0112  077515366 


8G 


from  Buffalo  to  8an  Francisco,  and  not  pass  a 
day  without  seeing  farmers  from  your  own  great 
State.  Your  agricultural  record,  commencing 
with  your  first  Society  in  1791,  is  an  interesting 
and  noble  one.  Your  example  has  excited  emu- 
lation and  awakened  improvement,  even  in  dis- 
tant regions. 

Our  Western  farmers  have  been  gratified  at 
their  Fairs  by  the  visits  of  your  officers.  We 
w^elcome  them,  and  you,  one  and  all,  to  the 
West,  to  visit  its  rich  and  boundless  plains,  and 
its  majestic  rivers,  forming  a vast  country  of 
health  and  beauty  and  fertility  united  in  the 
highest  degree. 

Your  venerable  Secretary  is  well-known  to 
our  leading  Western  farmers,  and  although  he 
touches  the  point  assigned  by  the  Psalmist  as  the 
limit  of  manly  life,  we  may  well  rejoice  that 
“ his  eye  is  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abat-  t 
ed.”  Long  may  he  yet  pursue,  with  rare  vigor 
and  ability,  his  extended  career  of  pre-eminent 
usefulness. 

And  may  your  Society,  Mr.  President,  continue 
to  exert  the  highest  influence  for  agricultural  im- 
provements, so  long  as  Seed-time  and  Harvest 
shall  endure. 


THE  imm  OF  THE 
APR  2 3 1932 

LINlVERSilY  OF  ILLIKOIS. 


